You might think that the duo's upcoming shows at the Irvine Improv would be no big deal. And you'd be wrong.

“We've never done anything like this before,” says Thompson, of the three-month Two Kids One Hall tour, when we reach him at his home in Toronto. “The funny thing is that within the Kids in the Hall, we never really did anything together.

Unlike McDonald and Dave Foley, or Mark McKinney and Bruce McCulloch, writing partners who performed in many sketches together, McDonald and Thompson seldom worked together in the group's TV series or live performances.

November 4th, 2010, 10:20 am by KELLI SKYE FADROSKI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

It's been four years since comedian Dennis Miller has recorded a comedy special for HBO. He's now more ready than ever to share what's been brewing in his brain. As host of his own self-titled talk radio program and with his duties as a political commentator for Fox news, he's kept himself busy.

However, Miller says he's still in love with the art of stand-up, which is why he will be filming his eighth HBO special, The Big Speech, at the Irvine Barclay Theatre on Saturday and Sunday.

“I watched a lot of speeches given in the last few years and thought it was time for my retort,” he says of his latest act in a recent phone interview. Still, he insists that the new hour is certainly not a political lecture -- it's a comedy show.

“The prime directive of the special is to evoke some laughter,” he says. “I've always talked about current events -- since Weekend Update back on Saturday Night Live, I've talked about current events and living in America. So it's just current events -- it's not a long sermon.”

Miller, now 57, got his start in stand-up in the late '70s. He's nonchalant about his beginnings, describing himself as a “loser” who one night stumbled upon a comedian performing in his hometown of Pittsburgh. The man on stage was terrible and Miller thought “I could be that bad,” he recalls. Soon after that experience, he wrote up a little act, got on a stage and did 15 solid minutes and received exactly three laughs.